Easy Steps to a Greener House.
A few months ago amidst the government shutdown, I was expressing my concern and heartbreak to Andrew about what was happening to the National Parks during that time. I got so worked up telling him how angry I was that people were hurting these beautiful places and taking advantage of the fact there was no one there to clean up their messes, that I actually found myself in tears. My reaction sort of took me by surprise and I realized that I was sort of being a hypocrite for being so mad at what people were doing to the parks; though I wasn’t directly effecting this outcome, I was still hurting the environment on a daily basis. Through my wastefulness, by constantly using single use plastics, and not paying much attention to what I was throwing away due to my consumerism.
I still have a long way to go to make sure I’m leaving much less of a footprint on the planet, but was quickly able to modify a few things in our home to make it a more green space and cut back on our waste. I’m sharing a few products that Andrew and I have started using in our home that are affordable, eco-friendly and very easy to implement into your routine.
I discovered Common Good and their collection of household soaps and cleaners (that are all plant based and refillable) in an effort to cut back on single use plastics. Their dish soap retails for 6.99 but you can also buy a large refill box for 13.99 that comes in an entirely recyclable package.
Next up, food storage alternatives. Andrew purchased these Hive Co. Beeswax Wraps on Amazon for 14.00. A reusable alternative to plastic wrap and plastic bags to keep your food fresh and use of plastic to a minimum.
Putting an end to purchasing soaps and body washes in plastic bottles. Still a fan of the Soapbox Soaps mission, and I love their unique scents, so their bar soaps that come in a recyclable cardboard box our my favorite for keeping us fresh and clean.
This was a big one: eliminating paper towels! We realized we were going through wayyy to many paper towels and my remedy was getting rid of them altogether. We purchased a bulk package of bar mop towels to be used in any instance we would use a paper towel. Cleaning, wiping our hands, absorbing up a spill, you name it; we keep a bucket in our laundry room where we just through them when they’re used and can was them once a week and start again. To coincide with this I also thought it was time to give up one of my favorite things in the world, Clorox Wipes. As it was a quick change over I opted for an eco friendly all-purpose solution by Method, but my plan when these bottles run out is to make my own cleaning solution and re-use the spray bottle.
Putting a stop to plastic hand soap bottles. I bought two, plain, soap dispensers from Amazon for under 15.00 and the refill box of hand soap from Common Good and they now stand proud in the kitchen and bathroom.
And another big one, trying not to accept plastic straws. I’m sure deep down we’re all with Adrien Grenier and his fight to save the sea turtles; and all it takes is a bit of mindfulness in regards to something we don’t often think about, to-go drinks. I bought two reusable metal straws one to keep at home and one at work so I could stop grabbing a straw for all those ice coffees I’m drinking. You can buy a set of 8 here for under 7.00. No brainer.
If you have any additional tips and tricks for an eco friendly home - I would LOVE to hear about them as I feel most of these are easy adaptations to our lives and even these small steps can lead to big changes in how we’re treating our environment.
